


「Protect Me || Shizuo Heiwajima x Reader」

by WordsOfFate



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Anime, Anime x reader, Cute, Dark, F/M, Fluff, Kidnapped, Love, Mystery, Reader-Insert, Romance, XReader, anime and manga - Freeform, anime fanfiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 10:03:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14078472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WordsOfFate/pseuds/WordsOfFate
Summary: Being sent away to live in Ikebukuro was supposed to be for your own protection. Little did you know that darker things that far surpassed the dangers in your town lurked within the city. With the strongest man in Japan, Shizuo Heiwajima, being your bodyguard, no danger should've ever been able to get past him. But with your smart mouth, his lack of patience and his growing feelings for you, will he still be capable of protecting you? Or will the biggest threat of all finally get his hands on you?





	1. 「one」

    Ikebukuro was certainly not what you expected it to be. Growing up in various different small-time towns all your life, your only experience with cities were the ones you visited briefly with your father when he had to leave for meetings or the cities depicted in shows or movies. All of those cities were full of life - full of people with almost a carefree attitude. Ikebukuro was different from those other cities; you sensed the difference almost immediately after you stepped off the train. It felt as if something sinister was lurking beneath the facade.  

      
    Although it wasn’t your idea, you thought that your father sending you away to Ikebukuro was the best thing that could’ve happened. You’ve been yearning for the chance to explore the world on your own ever since you turned 18 just a few weeks back, but your protective father never let you for good reason. Being the CEO of an industry that sometimes partnered with people that were far from trustworthy was tricky business, especially when those said people would stop at nothing to get what they want. Your father had no other choice but to send you away.

      
    This was the chance you had always been looking for. A strange new city with strange new people… it was perfect. Of course, there was still the matter of the bodyguard your father had hired to watch you. Knowing your father, he’d try to make sure that you were kept safely indoors which would surely hinder your adventure around the city.

      
    To your knowledge, your father went through a great deal of trouble trying to find and get in contact with the man. He was supposedly supposed to be the strongest man in all of Ikebukuro - no, in all of Japan. Despite that, you had never heard of him before. You only hoped this bodyguard would be like the past ones your father had hired for you; lazy and extremely gullible.

      
    As soon as you stepped off the train and started looking around, one particular man stuck out to you more so than the others. It was almost as if everyone else was in black and white and he was the only person in full color… Or it was the fact that people went out of their way to avoid him as if he was one dangerous character. Without any hesitation, you immediately started making your way towards him.

      
    You had a feeling that this man was supposed to be your new bodyguard, but doubt quickly started drowning that thought away when you noticed the bartender outfit he was wearing. Although he was built like one, he still didn’t look like any bodyguard you had ever seen in your life. Even so, your curiosity was still nagging at you to find out more.

      
    Almost immediately, your nose wrinkled in distaste at the smell of the smoke coming from the cigarette he was smoking. If there was anything you hated most, that was definitely it. Pushing past your reflex to gag and move away, you dared to approach him until you were standing just feet away from him.

      
    “You’re not a bartender, are you?” you asked him.

      
    His wandering eyes slowly landed on you before giving you a distasteful look. Taking his cigarette out of his mouth, he dropped it onto the floor and quickly extinguished it with a stomp of his shoe.

      
    “Let’s go,” he told you as he started walking away.

      
    “Wait!” you quickly called as you struggled to keep up with him. “You’re not even going to ask who I am?”

      
    “I’m getting paid to watch you, not to learn your whole life story,” he replied curtly.

      
    You couldn’t help but cross your arms, angered and quite hurt by his attitude. He definitely wasn’t like any other bodyguard you’ve had before.

      
    “Well, I’m (Y/N),” you told him anyway, hoping to strike up a conversation. “What’s your name?”

      
    He stayed silent as he continued to walk at a steady pace. Your patience was quickly running short and it took everything you had not to get angry.

      
    “Oh, come on. If I’m going to be with you for the next few weeks, I might as well know your name. Unless you want me to refer to you as just ‘my bodyguard’ the whole time.”

      
    “Shizuo,” he finally replied, his tone of voice almost sounding like a growl. His patience seemed to be just as thin as yours… that was interesting to know.

      
    The two of you remained silent as he continued to lead you out of the subway. The initial shock of finally being there was enough to contain your excitement, but the second you stepped foot outside to where the city truly laid was when you finally lost control over that excitement. Running ahead of your new bodyguard, you only stopped when you reached the curb of the sidewalk. You stared longingly at the cars zooming by and at the bustling people that made their way around the city easily as if they knew this giant place off the back of their hand.

      
    A strong hand suddenly landed on your shoulder making you jump. With a quick glance, you noticed that it was only Shizuo.

      
    “Come on,” he said in his gruff voice as he started walking away.

      
    “Are you going to take me exploring?” you asked excitedly, prepared to stay out there all night if that’s what it took to visit all over.

      
    “Sure,” he said, getting your hopes up just before he crushed them. “You can do plenty of exploring in my apartment when we get there.”

      
    You suddenly stopped in your tracks as you scowled at him. It only took him a few seconds to realize that you were no longer following him and he turned around to face you.

      
    “I’m not joking,” you told him.

      
    “I’m not either. Now hurry it up.”

      
    He tried to reach out to grab your arm, but you quickly took a step backward before he could grab you. It was obvious by his expression that he was losing his temper, but you didn’t care. You had been waiting to explore the city and you sure as hell wouldn’t let him stop you.

      
    “I want to explore Ikebukuro.”

      
    “And your father told me to keep you inside as much as I can, so no.”

      
    “I’ll find a way to get away from you when you’re not looking, I always do,” you warned him with a mischievous smirk. “And when I do, I wonder what my father will be more angry about; me exploring Ikebukuro under your supervision, or you allowing me to escape and wandering around a city like this all on my own. It’s really up to you.”

      
    He seemed ready to burst with anger before he quickly turned around and tried to calm himself down. A feeling of pride overwashed you, knowing that you had won this. You quickly skipped over to his side, a proud look present on your face which only seemed to anger him more.

      
    “You’re already making me regret taking this job,” he grumbled as he lit a cigarette and took a big hit from it.

      
    “Then you should just quit now and leave me be,” you told him, almost hoping that he would actually do as you said.

      
    After giving you a brief side glance, a strange look appeared on his face. It looked as if he had thought what you said was humorous.

      
    “Keep dreaming, sweetheart.”

      
    With that said, he began walking away which turned your proud look into one of annoyance. Of course he wouldn’t just quit. You already made it too obvious that you disliked his presence just as much as he disliked yours. Whether you liked it or not, you had a feeling you’d be stuck with him until it was safe for you to go home. But you couldn’t let that bother you now, though. Especially not when you were finally able to explore Ikebukuro.

      
    The strange places and people fascinated you to no extent. Everything there was so different from what you were used to; it was almost enchanting.

      
    “I wish I could meet some other people here,” you said mostly to yourself, but Shizuo overheard.

      
    “I’ll introduce you to people later that you can talk to,” he replied. He seemed almost bored as he lazily took another puff from his cigarette.

      
    “Oh, so now you’re trying to control my social life, huh?”

      
    “Ikebukuro isn’t a utopia. There are dangerous places and people all around that you need to avoid.”

      
    So your original thought on danger lurking in this city was correct. Even so, you never thought it was anything major. Either Shizuo was only trying to scare you, or there really was something sinister lurking around here. As hot-headed as he was, he didn’t seem like the type to purposely make up scary stories just to get back at you. You had a feeling that if he really wanted to scare you, he’d do it himself.

      
    “What kind of danger?” you asked curiously.

      
    “What? So you can go running off to it the moment you get the chance?”

      
    For the second time that day, he made you scowl. For someone you had only just met, he was definitely great at angering you.

      
    “I’m not some foolish little kid,” you snapped at him. “I think I have a right to know what dangers I should avoid here. You know, in case we ever got separated or something.”

      
    He still seemed hesitant to tell you, but he also didn’t seem to be in the mood to argue again after how the last argument went.

      
    “Avoid any color gang you see,” he finally said with a sigh, as if he was already regretting what he was saying.

      
    “Color gang?”

      
    “Each gang here has a different color to represent themselves. If you see a group of people wearing the same color, avoid them at all costs,” he said simply as if avoiding a whole gang was the easiest thing in the world.

      
    “Will do,” you mumbled.

      
    “There’s one other person you better avoid,” he said as he suddenly stopped walking. A look of pure anger over washed his face. “He’s a dangerous, manipulative bastard who will only get you into trouble. His name is-”

      
    “What’s that sound?” you asked suddenly, cutting him off mid-sentence.

      
    It sounded almost like a horse neighing, but there couldn’t be any horses in a city like this, right? But there the sound was again coming from down the block you were on. Without hesitating, you started running towards the sound, ignoring Shizuo’s yells to come back. Your curiosity was dying to know the cause of the sound.

      
    As you reached the end of the block, you had to push your way past the crowd of people that gathered there to get a look at the thing. Once you made it to the front of the crowd, a black figure riding a motorcycle raced past you. Before your mind could process what you had just seen, the neighing was heard one last time, but this time you knew it was coming from the motorcycle itself, almost as if it was alive…

      
    The crowd soon dispersed and you saw Shizuo take a step next to you from the corner of your eye. His arms were crossed and he had what seemed to be a pleased look on his face.

      
    “What was that…?” you asked, still completely stunned.

      
    “You were just lucky enough to get a close-up look at The Black Rider,” he told you.

      
    “Is that another threat I should stay away from?”

      
    He merely chuckled.

      
    “Celty? No, she’s one of the few good guys around here. If you’re ever in trouble and I can’t help, she’ll be there to rescue you.”

      
    “Wow, you know her?” you asked, looking up at him with astonishment.

      
    “You could say we’re friends,” he said before a small smirk appeared on his face. “Now come on, it’s getting late. We’ll continue this in the morning.”

      
    To his surprise, you didn’t argue. You still had weeks to explore this wonderful city. Too bad that the true sinister thing that lurked in the city was still unknown to you.


	2. 「two」

    The next day, just as promised, Shizuo walked with you around Ikebukuro. Like the previous day, he wasn’t too pleased to be doing so, but he couldn’t bother to try arguing against the subject again. He had business to get done with Tom that day anyway, he might as well bring you along.

      
    The walk around the city was actually quite boring. At first, nothing eventful like seeing The Black Rider happened again. Neither of you really spoke much probably due to the fact that neither of you really cared for each other’s company. He only took this job to earn some quick money and you were only there because, well, you were forced to. At least this arrangement gave you the opportunity to get away from your boring home life and get to explore an amazing city such as Ikebukuro.

      
    Shizuo seemed to have been in an even worse mood than he was in the previous day. If someone so much as gave him the wrong look, he’d make a sound that was extremely close to the one of a growl. Besides that, he so far never revealed why and how he was one of the most feared men in all of Ikebukuro. You knew there was something about him that made him seem so fearsome by all the terrified looks he received by people as he walked down the street. Perhaps people were scared of his inhuman-like growls?

      
    As he continued to lead you around the city, the two of you found yourselves in front of a sushi place with a tall, black man standing outside passing flyers. Shizuo tried to keep walking past it, but the man stopped him before he could get far.

      
    “Ah, Shizuo! Long time, yes?” the man asked with a wide smile on his face. It almost looked odd to see such a buff man like him looking so happy, yet it still seemed to suit him.

      
    “Yeah. Hey, Simon,” Shizuo replied back, looking as if he had wished the man, Simon, never spotted him in the first place.

      
    To your surprise, Simon turned to face you with that smile of his still on his face. He looked just as pleased to see you as he did with Shizuo which caught you off guard.

      
    “Ah, it’s good to see you again, too!” he exclaimed in that thick accent of his.

      
    Good to see you again…? You were fairly sure you never saw this man yesterday during your short time of exploring so what in the world was he talking about? Looking up at Shizuo, you were expecting him to answer your question for you, but all he did was slightly shake his head, giving you the hint to just play along.

      
    “Oh, um, yeah! It’s great seeing you, too!” you told the man who seemed to be extremely pleased with your answer.

      
    “Do you want Russia’s sushi?”

      
    As if on cue, your stomach growled. Before you could say yes to his question, Shizuo cut in first.

      
    “Sorry, Simon, but we have to get going. Another day, though,” he told the intimidating man.

      
    Almost immediately after, Shizuo started pushing you slightly away from Simon and didn’t stop until the two of you were out of earshot from him. A pout immediately formed on your face after he stopped, upset with the fact that he ruined your chances of getting food.

      
    “Why did you have to do that? I’m hungry,” you whined.

      
    “Trust me, I did you a favor. You don’t want to try that sushi,” he said.

      
    As he started walking away again, you decided not to push it this time. Maybe he was right about the sushi not being the best, but that still didn’t change the fact that you were hungry. Out of nowhere, Shizuo pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it before placing it in between his teeth. Your nose almost immediately wrinkled in disgust as the smell of the smoke wafted up your nostrils and your hunger almost completely dissipated.

      
    “Do you seriously have to do that now? You’ve ruined my appetite with that disgusting smell.”

      
    “At least that’s one less thing you’ll complain about now,” he muttered as he took another puff.

      
    All of the blood seemed to have reached your head at that comment of his. Was he really going to treat you like that? It’s bad enough that you would be stuck with him for the next few weeks, but he wouldn’t even respect what you wanted?

      
    “That stuff is poisonous and I won’t allow you to smoke it!” you screamed at him in the middle of the crowd.

      
    “You suddenly care about my health now, do you?” he asked mockingly.

      
    “No. I care about my own health. Ever heard of second-hand smoke?”

      
    All he did was roll his eyes in response, never even bothering to reply back to what you said. That only gave you more ammunition to volley your next series of words.

      
    “I wonder if my father will still pay you when he finds out that you left me exposed to cigarette smoke during my whole stay here and never even cared about my health,” you said, a smirk appearing on your face.

      
    He looked about ready to lose his temper and start screaming, but he never did. Instead, he clenched his fists after removing the cigarette from his mouth and stomping it into the ground. He opened his mouth to speak, but a fit of chest-wracking coughs erupted from his lungs instead. You almost felt bad for him until you remembered that he caused this for himself with his bad habits.

      
    “See?” you asked him after he stopped coughing. “That’s why you shouldn’t smoke.”

      
    Instead of getting an angry response from him like you were hoping, something unexpected happened. In a matter of seconds, you were suddenly on the ground, your mind feeling dazed. Fear struck you immediately. Did Shizuo push you…?

      
    But as you looked up at him, a shocked look was plastered over his face, telling you that he wasn’t the one who did this. Following his gaze that suddenly moved to your left, you noticed a man with a colored bandana on the ground just a few feet away from you. Without a word, he quickly scrambled to his feet and tried to get away, but Shizuo didn’t let him get far.

      
    “So you think you can just run into a lady like that and not even apologize?!” he roared at the man.

      
    “I-I’m sorry!” the man stuttered, only just realizing who he was dealing with.

      
    “I may hate violence,” Shizuo growled before hoisting up a nearby vending machine. “But I hate bastards like you even more!”

          
    To your utter amazement, he chucked the vending machine at the man. He barely had any time to react before it went slamming into him, sending him spiraling backward. Shizuo simply dusted his hands off before turning to you where he instantly froze. He seemed almost… ashamed of his actions. As if he didn’t want you to see this side of him.

      
    Extending a hand out to you, he helped you to your feet before quickly turning away. If you couldn’t tell already, it was obvious now that he really was ashamed of his actions, you just didn’t know why.

      
    “I’m sorry you had to witness that,” he muttered before starting to walk away again.

      
    “Why are you apologizing?” you asked. “That was amazing! I’ve never seen anything like that in my whole life!”

      
    “You’re not afraid of me…?” he asked cautiously.

      
    “Why would I be?”

      
    He hesitated for a moment, but eventually, a small smile appeared on his face. You truly meant the words you spoke. Even though you knew that you probably should be afraid of a man with strength like that, you weren’t. Sure, he may annoy the hell out of you, but you could never see him trying to hurt you. If anything, his extreme strength was a comfort to you. At least now you knew how Shizuo earned his infamous title.

 

* * *

 

    After Shizuo went inside a shady-looking building to discuss some final things with Tom, he left you outside with strict instructions not to move from the spot. As he stated to you, “a person manages to find trouble in Ikebukuro; not the other way around.” He told you that as long as you stayed put, nothing should happen during the little bit of time that he would be gone.

      
    The whole time while you waited for him, you yearned to disobey him and start wandering on your own, but something was telling you it was best not to. As nice as the city was, you already knew a little about the dangers that lurked at both day and night. It was probably best you stayed where you were. Little did you know what Shizuo was wrong. Unknowingly, you allowed trouble to approach you.

      
    You saw the man before he even reached you. How could you not? He stood out like a sore thumb. But never once did it cross your mind that he was one of the dangers Shizuo was always warning you about. No, this man seemed different than the everyday dangers. It had to be that devilish smirk of his that drew you in. With guys like that, one pays more attention to their charming smile rather than the devil that resides within them.

      
    “I don’t believe I know you,” the man said once he was only a few feet away from you.

      
    “Is that supposed to be a shock to you?” you asked.

      
    He chuckled slightly and leaned against the wall next to him, never once taking his eyes off of you.

      
    “Considering I know everyone in this city, yes, it is quite shocking.”

      
    You eyed him suspiciously, not knowing where he was going with this. He couldn’t possibly know every single person in Ikebukuro, it had to be impossible. Was this just some sort of weird way to pick-up girls?

      
    “I highly doubt that.”

      
    “Oh, so now you’re doubting me without even giving me your name? How rude,” he joked.

      
    “Maybe I am,” you teased. “If you tell me your name, I’ll tell you mine.”

      
    “Izaya Orihara, at your service,” he informed you with a bow.

      
    “I’m (Y/N).”

      
    Izaya was undeniably charming in his own way and you couldn’t help but be curious to learn more about him, but there was something that seemed… sinister about him. Something you just couldn’t seem put your finger on.

      
    “Interesting name,” he said with that charming smirk of his. “It’s great to meet you, (Y/N)-chan. I hope-”

      
    “IZAYAAAA!” Shizuo’s loud voice boomed out of nowhere.

      
    In an instant, Shizuo was standing in front of you as he cracked his knuckles. He seemed both pleased and annoyed to see Izaya there, almost as if he yearned to bash this man’s skull in yet he deemed it to be too much work.

      
    “Hey there, Shizu-chan,” Izaya called teasingly. “I was just leaving.”

      
    “Oh, you’re not going anywhere. I warned you what would happen the next time you stepped foot back into Ikebukuro,” he growled.

      
    Before he could reach for the nearest vending machine, Izaya sprinted off. Shizuo moved to chase after him, but you stopped him just before he did.

      
    “What’s your problem?” you screamed at him. “He was being nice to me and you just had to scare him away!”

      
    “Izaya is one of the most dangerous men around here! He’s just like the people your father sent you here to get away from in the first place. You can’t trust that asshole.”

      
    As much as Shizuo annoyed you, he hasn’t steered you wrong yet. He had nothing to gain by driving a perfectly harmless person away from you. Could that mean that Izaya really was dangerous?

      
    “You didn’t give him your name, right? It’s dangerous for him to have your name.”

      
    “No, I didn’t,” you lied.

      
    You knew you shouldn’t have lied to him, but you knew you messed up by foolishly giving your name away. Perhaps Shizuo was just overreacting this time. Perhaps he’s just letting an old rivalry take over his views on Izaya. If you kept it to yourself, things would stay as they were, right?

 

* * *

 

    “So Shizu-chan is the one protecting the girl…” Izaya evaluated, trailing off as he stared at his chessboard with several different game pieces scattered about on it in a pattern that only he understood.

      
    “Will this affect the plan?” Namie asked, sounding bored.

      
    “No. If anything, we might be able to use Shizu-chan to our advantage,” he said half-distractedly as he moved one of the pieces to a different spot.

      
    “How do you plan on pulling that off?”

      
    “All in good time and you’ll see. I already have everything planned out,” he said with a smirk before he grasped the queen chess piece in his hand. “Soon, the plan will go into play, and (Y/N)-chan will be mine.”


	3. 「three」

    “You’re an asshole!” you screamed.

      
    “I know,” he replied simply, almost sounding bored with your volley of insults that had been passed for the past few minutes.

      
    “I hate you!”

      
    “Was that one even supposed to bother me?”

      
    Something close to a growl was emitted from your throat. Only three days had passed and you were growing to hate Shizuo even more. After the incident with Izaya the previous day, he was suddenly overly paranoid that something - or someone - was out to get you. He refused to let you leave the apartment the two of you shared, even under his supervision.

      
    “You can’t keep me locked here!”

      
    “I already am.”

      
    “I-I…,” you said, desperately trying to think of ways to get him to release you. “I’ll tell my father-”

      
    “Tell your father what? That I’m doing exactly what he told me to do? Good luck with getting me in trouble with that one, princess,” he said smugly.

      
    You were practically seething in anger by that point. After three days of living with you, he was finally done with hearing that same threat from you. By that point, you were desperate wracking your brain for ideas to make him release you. Using your father as a threat was all you ever had to do, but now that Shizuo made it clear it wouldn’t work, you were practically helpless this time. Tears threatened to spill down your face out of sheer frustration.

      
    “If you’re done trying to insult me, I’ll be taking my shower now,” he remarked as he turned his back to you, noticing your trembling jaw. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he felt bad for doing this, but there was no choice.

      
    “I’m surprised he’s not making me take one with him,” you muttered to yourself, but he did indeed hear it.

      
    “By all means, come on it,” he said as his lips twisted into a smirk. “I’m not shy.”

      
    “Just go take your shower, you pervert!”

      
    He couldn’t help but chuckle when he noticed the blush that was blooming across your face. Nevertheless, he headed towards the bathroom door, only stopping to wave a small key in his hand and to say one last thing.

      
    “By the way, before you attempt to leave the apartment while I’m in here, only I have the key.”

      
    With that final irritating statement, he entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him, being sure to lock it. Grabbing the nearest pillow on the couch, you screamed into it, not even caring anymore if he could hear you. You refused to let him win like this. He was overly paranoid of things and was making you suffer for that. He must be insane if he honestly thinks that you’d stay in this tiny apartment until it was time for you to go home.

      
    Getting up from the couch, you made your way over to the door just to find that it really was locked like he claimed. You honestly didn’t know what you were expecting; even he wasn’t stupid enough to make that big of a bluff with you. This couldn’t be safe, though. What the hell were you expected to do if there was ever a fire? Unless there was a fire escape somewhere…

      
    Running to the living room window, you looked out just to find that the fire escape wasn’t there. The bathroom definitely didn’t have one, but perhaps in Shizuo’s room there was. Walking as quietly as you could pass the bathroom, you made your way inside his room and ran to the window to find that was exactly where it was. The shower was suddenly turned off letting you know that you only had a few minutes left at the very most. As you opened the window, you quickly slipped out. While running down the clunky stairs, you braced to hear him scream at any moment. You knew he’d be angry, but you couldn’t care less. For all you know, it served him right for trying to keep you locked up like an animal.

      
    Before long, you finally reached solid ground. This was it - you could finally explore Ikebukuro without him constantly being on your tail. Nothing could possibly go wrong, right?

      
    Throughout his whole shower, Shizuo felt guilty. He made it painfully clear that he only saw you as a pain in the ass, but he couldn’t help but feel bad when he saw how upset you were over these new arrangements. If Izaya really was going after you, he wouldn’t dare do so with Shizuo by your side all the time. Maybe he could take you outside just for a little while.

      
    After stepping out of the shower and throwing some clothes on, he exited the bathroom while drying his hair. “Hey, (Y/N),” he called while his eyes were still shielded by the towel. “Stop complaining and I’ll take you out-”

      
    He stopped mid-sentence when he was finally able to see. You were no longer seated on the couch where he last left you. He ran throughout the tiny apartment until he reached his room where he discovered the window which was now open from the last time he was in the room. It didn’t take long for him to realize what you did.

      
    “Dammit!” he roared as he punched his bedroom door, leaving a fist-sized hole in the middle of it.

      
    “Dammit, dammit, dammit!”

      
    It was all he could say. He was so angry that it was difficult for him to form other words. He couldn’t even leave you alone for ten damn minutes! How the hell was he supposed to do his job like this?

      
    “This girl is so not worth the money,” he mumbled to himself. But nonetheless, without hesitation, he ran out his apartment door in search for you.

      
    Ikebukuro never seemed this intimidating to you until now. Of course you noticed the past two days that it was a large city, but it never seemed to phase you. Shizuo walked through the streets so confidently and knowingly that it almost made you feel like you were like that too. Now, without his company, you just felt like a lost puppy among the sea of people.

      
    You were so used to people making sure to walk around you when he was by your side. Without him, you were nothing special to them. It was like a new game to dodge around all the people so you wouldn’t get pushed back. When two guys forcefully ran into you, you couldn’t help but open your mouth.

      
    “Excuse you,” you said angrily at the pair of guys.

      
    “Did you say something, little girl?” one of them asked mockingly as they both turned their heads, revealing the colored bandanas they wore. They were from a color gang, something that Shizuo made sure to warn you about.

      
    “N-nothing,” you quickly stuttered before running away.

      
    After that, everything seemed to scare you. The honking of cars, the wailing sirens of police and ambulance, and even some creepy looking pedestrians. It didn’t take you long to realize that you made a horrible mistake of coming out here alone, but you had no idea how to get back to the apartment and no phone on you to call Shizuo even if you did have his number. You were stuck and alone.

      
    As you ran around the city trying desperately to find something that looked even remotely familiar to help you get back to the apartment. By now, Shizuo had to be looking for you so maybe you’d even run into him along the way. Just thinking about how much he’d yell at you once he found you was enough to deter that thought away. On second thought, maybe getting to the apartment first would be a better idea.

      
    After a while, you finally stumbled across what looked to be an empty street. The houses all looked abandoned and there wasn’t any person in sight. It definitely didn’t look familiar, but you didn’t care. You needed to get away from all the noise you had to endure for the past, what seemed to be, hour.

      
    You slowly walked down the empty road, yearning to find a place to rest. All the running you did made you exhausted. At first, when you heard the sound of an engine and tires squealing behind you, you only thought it was your imagination for some reason. But as you turned around the noticed a black car zooming right towards you, you only had a mere second to react. Jumping out of the way, your head made contact with the cement sidewalk. Before you could feel the pain of the blow, everything went black.

     

* * *

 

    “Where is she? Where is she?” Shizuo muttered to himself as he wandered around looking for you.

      
    Sure, he was beyond pissed that you left the apartment without his protection, but he was also beyond worried. So many things could happen to you that he was afraid of. After an hour passed by and no sign of you, his anger was slowly dimming away while his worry was increasing. Where the hell did you go?

      
    As he turned onto a street, he saw in the distance a girl with (H/L), (H/C) hair laying in the middle of the road with what looked to be a puddle of blood right by her head. It didn’t take him long to realize that girl was you.

      
    “No, no, no!” he screamed as he rushed over to you. “What the hell happened?”

      
    There was no reply from you and he feared for the worst. He bit his hand hard to the point where he was bleeding to prevent the volley of curses that threatened to escape his mouth. Gently rolling you over on your back, he carefully places his fingers on your neck and was relieved when he felt that a pulse was still there. All he knew was that you need stitches immediately. Taking out his phone, he quickly dialed the number he needed.

      
    “It’s an emergency, Celty,” he told her. “You better come quickly.”


	4. 「four」

    Voices flooded your head as you began to regain consciousness. It was easy to recognize Shizuo’s gruff voice, but the other male’s voice was unfamiliar to you. They were talking in low voices as if not to wake you from your slumber.

      
    “You’re sure she’ll be fine?” Shizuo asked, his voice full of concern.

      
    “Yup, she’ll make a full recovery soon,” said the unfamiliar voice.

      
    “But you didn’t even give her stitches yet.”

      
    “Trust me, she doesn’t need them. It’s just the concussion that worries me, but that’ll go away in time.”

      
    “Thank you, Shinra. I’m glad she’s better,” Shizuo said in a soft voice.

      
    “I’m glad I could help,” the man, Shinra, announced proudly. “But I do have to say, I’m kinda hurt that you got a girlfriend and didn’t even tell me until now.”

      
    “He wishes I was his girlfriend,” you teased before Shizuo could respond. Your voice was scratchy due to a dry throat which got you wondering just how long you were passed out for.

      
    Both men turned their attention to you immediately. To your surprise, Shizuo didn’t even seem annoyed by your comment - he just looked relieved. He also looked to be quite a mess. The bartender outfit that he always seemed to cherish so much was wrinkled and had several blood splotches across it. Shinra, as well, had blood splotches across his white doctor’s coat and his glasses were crooked, but he bore a pleased smile on his face nonetheless.

      
    “Ah!” he exclaimed. “She finally awakens!”

      
    Shizuo hastily pushed his friend aside and sat down on the couch beside you. His usual shades were nowhere to be seen on his face allowing for his brown eyes to be seen. They stared into your (E/C) ones for quite a few moments before he finally spoke.

      
    “You’re such a dumbass,” he said gruffly, sounding almost irritated.

      
    “Wow, thanks, asshole,” you retorted with a scowl on your face, turning away from him with your arms crossed.

      
    Shinra laughed sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. “Well, this is quite the reunion.”

      
    Strong arms suddenly engulfed you into a hug from behind, shocking you momentarily. “But, I’m glad you’re okay,” he whispered.

      
    Suddenly, a door slammed shut from somewhere in the large apartment, causing you to jump. Footsteps soon followed the noise causing you to tense up. After nearly getting run over by that black car, you weren’t too keen on being in strange places. Even though Shizuo was there with you, it didn’t make you any less nervous. Shinra seemed nice enough, but you had no clue who else lived in the apartment…

      
    “Hey, no need to be nervous,” Shizuo said as he put a hand on your shoulder.

      
    Shinra laughed slightly before shooting you a friendly smile. “That’s just Celty. She may appear intimidating, but she’s really just a big sweetheart.”

      
    A girl dressed in all black stepped into the room and she certainly did appear intimidating. It wasn’t her tough physique that frightened you; it was the fact that in replace of her head, black smoke was coming from her neck. She quickly typed a message onto a cell phone and held it up for Shinra to see.

      
     _“I’m not deaf you know,”_   the message read. After holding the phone long enough for everyone to read the message, she folded her arms and tapped her foot.

      
    Shizuo chuckled. “He’s not wrong, you know. To normal people, you do come off as a little intimidating without a head.”

      
    “You’re the Black Rider!” you exclaimed, interrupting their little conversation. You remembered seeing her the first day you arrived at Ikebukuro. Shizuo did mention that he knew her, it was just so hard for you to believe it until now.

      
    She quickly started typing on her phone again before holding it up for you to see.  _“I’m glad to see that you’re feeling better.”_

      
    “Celty, here, was the one who helped me get you to Shinra to fix you up,” Shizuo told you.

      
    “Thank you so much,” you said to both Celty and Shinra.

      
    The doctor suddenly wrapped his arm around the girl clad in black and dramatically tilted his head back. “Ah, my wife here is just the best! She can cook, she loves helping people - not to mention she has such ginormous-”

      
    She pushed him off of her before he could finish, sending him flying onto the ground. “Such a ginormous heart!” he stammered quickly as he got to his feet. “I was saying you have such a ginormous heart, Celty! Why do you have to be so mean?”

      
    You couldn’t help but giggle at the scene before you while Shizuo groaned in frustration, obviously used to Shinra’s shenanigans. If Celty had a head, you could’ve sworn she would’ve rolled her eyes at her husband’s attempts to seem innocent. Before he could say anything more, his phone began ringing. He held up a hand to us before answering it and walking away.

      
    “So, Celty,” you said, trying to make conversation. “If you don’t mind me asking, what are you exactly?”

      
    She typed on her phone quickly before holding it up.  _“I’m a dullahan.”_

      
    “Basically the Irish folklore equivalent of the Headless Horsemen,” Shizuo explained as he laid back in his seat and closed his eyes.

      
    “So you really don’t have a head?” you questioned.

      
     _“I have one, it’s just lost.”_

      
    Before you could question her even further, Shinra finally came back, not looking as happy as he did before. He threw Celty her yellow helmet with a forced smile on his face.

      
    “Sorry, but you just got a job request,” he said, not sounding too happy.

      
     _“What’s wrong?”_  she typed.

      
    “It’s pretty far away - a few cities over. You don’t have to take this one if you don’t want to, especially because of the person who’s requesting it.”

      
    “Who is it?” Shizuo asked, suddenly intrigued. He finally opened one eye and was staring at Shinra intimidatingly with it.

      
    “Well, uh, I really don’t think you want to know,” he said sheepishly.

      
    “Just spit it out already.”

      
    “Izaya Orihara.”

      
    A low growl was emitted from Shizuo, but he closed his eyes again. “What business does that little parasite want a few cities over?”

      
    “I’m not quite sure,” he admitted hesitantly. “Usually he tells Celty what he wants her to do once she’s on the road and leaves me in the clouds. Not that I’m complaining. I think I’d rather not know what he’s having her do.”

      
    Celty and Shinra both looked at Shizuo expectantly, as if they were waiting for him to blow up. He opened another eye again and sighed. “Look, this is your business, not mine. Do what you want. I know you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself, Celty.”

      
     _“I’ll get going now,”_  she typed before turning to you and typing some more.  _“It was nice being able to meet you. You can call me anytime you need me.”_

      
    “I will,” you told her with a nod.

      
    Shinra helped her get ready and in a matter of minutes, she was gone, the only thing heard was the sound of her bike neighing in the distance. The three of you sat there in the apartment in silence for a few minutes before Shizuo finally spoke.

      
    “I should probably take (Y/N) back to my place. Are you sure she’s fine, Shinra?”

      
    “Yes, she should even be fine to walk on her own by now,” he told him. “Just no strenuous activity like running. She’s still not fully healed yet.”

      
    “I hope you’ve learned your lesson about roaming Ikebukuro on your own,” Shizuo muttered angrily.

      
    “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

      
    But you couldn’t help but smile at just how much he showed that he really did care.

 


	5. 「five」

    Neither you or Shizuo talked on the whole way back. It was obvious he feared that you would run away again. He wouldn’t let you be within two feet away from him, yet he refused to look you in your eyes. You knew he was still probably upset about what you did earlier. Even you regretted it now after learning firsthand how dangerous the city could actually be.

      
    Even when the two of you were sitting on the small couch in the apartment, the silence continued to overwash everything. Only the faint noises coming from outside could be heard. Taking a quick glance over at Shizuo, you noticed that he wasn’t even looking at you. His eyes were trained on the floor as if he was studying the carpet pattern intensely.

      
    “I’m sorry…” you whispered.

      
    His head slowly moved up and he finally looked you in the eyes, a shocked look on his face. He obviously wasn’t expecting you to apologize. You didn’t even really expect it yourself.

      
    “I’m sorry,” you repeated, clenching your hands into fists on your lap and looking away from him. “I wish I had just listened to you and stopped being so stubborn. The second I started walking around out there, I regretted it.”

      
    He gently placed his strong hand on top of your trembling one, causing you to look up at him. “It’s not your fault. I should’ve known you’d try to run away. I shouldn’t have been so focused on Izaya; I needed to be more focused on  _you_ _._ ”

      
    Without thinking, you wrapped your arms around him and buried your face into his shoulder, desperately trying to stop the tears that threatened to spill out of your eyes.

      
    “I hated it out there so much. By myself, I feel so afraid and helpless. I never realized that before when you were always there to  _protect me_.”

      
    No words left his mouth. Slowly, you pulled away to see a pained look on his face. Little did you know he was debating the actions he would carry out next. Before you could react, his lips suddenly collided with yours. You didn’t waste a single moment to react. Straddling his waist, you deepened the kiss as you tangled your fingers in his golden locks of hair. He placed his hands on your waist and squeezed tightly as he pushed his tongue inside your mouth.

      
    Moans were made on both ends and your body went weak when he bit down on your bottom lip, tugging the flesh with his teeth. Taking advantage of it, he flipped the two of you to where he was now on top. You looked up at him with a playful smirk on your lips. He lowered his head and placed fervent kisses along your neck. You yearned to move your hands across his body, but before you got the chance to, he pinned your hands against the couch. At first, you didn’t mind. But the longer he held them, the tighter and tighter his grip got until it was far too painful for you to bear.

      
    “S-Shizuo,” you whimpered, squirming under his grip. “It hurts.”

      
    It didn’t take long for the realization to dawn on him. He quickly backed away from you, a look of horror and anger on his face. Not anger directed towards you - towards himself.

      
    “I’m so damn stupid!” he yelled, placing his face in his hands.

      
    “No, you’re not!” you argued, trying to move closer to him to comfort him. He moved away from you before you could get anywhere near him.

      
    “Just stay away!” he roared, causing you to freeze in your tracks. “How the hell did you manage to do it? Never once did I have the urge to get close to a woman because I knew I’d just end up hurting them. So how did you manage to make me forget that?”

      
    “Please, Shizuo,” you begged. “It’s not a bad thing. You can control it-”

      
    “No, I can’t. I can’t control it and I can’t risk hurting you. I don’t want that on my conscience. I can’t take this job anymore.”

      
    “But-”

      
    “Don’t argue with me, (Y/N).”

      
    Your jaw trembled and the tears you managed to withhold earlier finally managed to spill out. This couldn’t be happening, this couldn’t be happening…

      
    “You’re just a coward!” you shouted before storming out of the apartment, this time for good.

      
   _Coward_. He’s been called many things in the past few years; animal, monster, asshole, but coward was a first. Even so, he knew it was fitting. When it came down to his emotions, then yes, he was a coward. He was terrified to express them and you were a perfect example of that. When he saw how injured you were when he first found you, his heart nearly shattered. He wanted to kill the person that did that to you.

      
    Now? Now you were back out in the dangerous city all by yourself once again. This time, though, he let you leave. The last thing he wanted was to see you and have to confront the emotions he desperately wanted to hide, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something else happened to you.

      
    Grumbling to himself, he made his way out the door and first looked around the building, hoping that you didn’t get too far yet. To his dismay, you were already gone. Back out into the dangerous streets of Ikebukuro.

      
    The last thing you wanted to do was to leave the apartment building, but there was nowhere else you could go. Shizuo had practically kicked you out. The best you could hope for was to scrounge up some change and find a pay phone for you to call your father. By now, you had enough of Ikebukuro to last a lifetime. It was finally time for you to go home.

      
    Turning into an alley, you froze when you saw two shady looking men a few feet ahead. You tried to turn around and back out onto the street where plenty of witnesses were, but two more men blocked your path.

      
    “Hey, wait, I think that’s the girl!” one of the men behind you called.

      
    “Is it?” one of the men in front asked.

      
    “Oh, yes. That is indeed her,” a familiar voice said in an amused voice.

      
    The man was further behind the men in front. He slowly walked out from the shadows to reveal him and his devilish smirk.

      
    “Right on time, (Y/N)-chan!” he exclaimed.

      
    “Izaya?” you asked hesitantly.

      
    “Oh, so you remember me? How wonderful!”

      
    “Please, you need to help me get in touch with my father so I can leave the city.”

      
    “Tsk, tsk. No can do,” he replied with a shrug. Before you could question him, he revealed a switchblade from under his sleeve and twirled it in his fingers. “You see, (Y/N)-chan, there are several people who would just love to get their hands on you to seek your father’s fortune and they’ll pay me handsomely to deliver you to them.”

      
    The fear you felt was nearly suffocating. Every muscle in your body screamed at you to run. Taking a shaky step back, you felt yourself run into one of the scary looking men behind you. As you tried to move away from him, he snaked an arm around you and placed a heavily scented piece of cloth against your mouth and nose. After unknowingly taking in the chemicals in a desperate attempt to get air, it only took seconds for everything to go black.

      
    Your limp body started to topple forward until Izaya swiftly caught you, propping your back up against his chest. He carefully pushed a strand of hair that got loose behind your hair with a victorious smirk on his face. Now this was just far too easy, even for him.

      
    “Well then, boys. It’s time to bring our little package back to-”

      
    Izaya was suddenly cut off by a street lamp being swung at one of his men, causing him to go crashing into a wall. The three other men went charging at their assailant only to all be knocked down with a single blow.

      
    “IZAYAAAA!” Shizuo roared as he panted heavily. He was shaking with fury and he clutched the street lamp tightly in his hands.

      
    “Perfect timing, Shizu-chan,” Izaya teased.

      
    Shizuo raised the street lamp and was prepared to swing at his enemy, but he was quickly stopped. Izaya’s switchblade was now pressed firmly against your throat. Shizuo slowly lowered his weapon and placed it on the ground, the look of rage that was once on his face now replaced with one of fear.

      
    “Just let her go, Izaya.”

      
    “No can do. I’m about to make a nice profit off of her.”

      
    “You son of a bitch-”

      
    Before he could say any more, one of the men struck Shizuo in the back of the head with a metal pipe. Even him, with his insane strength, couldn’t fight the effects of the serious concussion he was sure to have. Collapsing onto his knees, he fought desperately to stay conscious at black spots danced across his vision. Even sounds were hard for him to process, but he could clearly make out the distinct sound of a car rolling up.

      
    Izaya carefully laid you down inside the trunk of the car before opening the passenger door for himself. “Farewell, Shizu-chan!” he called before getting inside the vehicle.

      
    As Shizuo laid there in the middle of the alley watching Izaya drive away with your unconscious body, he couldn’t help but feel helpless for the first time ever.


	6. 「six」

    Ever since you and Shizuo left the apartment, Shinra couldn’t shake this bad feeling he had. He tried to keep himself busy in hopes of shaking off the feeling to no avail. He couldn’t even pinpoint the cause of his worry. Was it something to do with Celty? No, he knew better than to think she had gotten herself into trouble. Shizuo, on the other hand, was a much greater candidate for that, but Shinra knew that he was more than capable of handling things on his own.

      
    No, it wasn’t the well-being of either of his close companions that worried him. For some odd reason, the idea of you being in danger kept nagging at the back of his brain and refused to go away. Even after hours passed by since you and Shizuo left, his mind still refused to be at ease.

      
    With a heavy sigh, Shinra picked up his cellphone and started dialing a number. “It’s at least worth a phone call to check in,” he muttered to himself as the phone rang.

      
    He waited several moments for Shizuo to pick up, but to his dismay, he never did. Now it wasn’t unusual for him to miss a call. In fact, it went to voicemail more times than Shinra could count. With that said, it shouldn’t have bothered him, but it still did nothing to ease his nerves.

      
    Before he could put his phone away, it suddenly chimed and alerted him that he had a new text message. He felt relieved at first thinking it was a text from Shizuo. Instead, to his surprise, it was from Celty.

      
     _‘I don’t understand what this job is. Nothing is where Izaya told me it would be,’_  the message read.

      
     _‘Really?’_  Shinra texted back immediately.

      
     _‘Yes. I’m starting to feel like he sent me on a wild goose chase, but why?_ ’

      
    Thoughts began to swirl around in his head all of which were so awful, they made him feel nauseous. A part of him knew that there was a high chance that he was just overthinking everything, but he couldn’t risk it. He didn’t waste another second as he hastily started to dial Celty’s number into his phone. He was already in the process of trying to find his coat when the phone was answered.

      
    “Celty!” he exclaimed. “I don’t have a horrible feeling about everything today. Forget about the job and come back. I have to go find Shizuo.”

      
    After saying what he’d been wanting to all day, he hung up the phone and snatched his coat from where it laid on the couch. Worrying for what he feared would come out of this day, he rushed out of his apartment and into his car. With ragged breaths of fear being expelled from his chest, his only hope was that he was wrong.

      
    Shinra’s mind was so focussed on finding Shizuo that he didn’t even notice when he nearly ran him over. To be fair, he didn’t exactly expect his bloody body to come crawling out an alleyway and almost into the street, but it was a definite shock to say the least.

      
    He slammed on the breaks and rushed over to Shizuo to check on his injuries. It was obvious to Shinra that his friend had taken a heavy object to the head by the huge gash that was apparent along with the bloodstain, but it was far worse than the injury you had sustained just hours before.

      
    “What happened?!” Shinra asked worriedly.

      
    Shizuo seethed in pain as he attempted to sit himself upright only to need the help of his friend to accomplish such a small action. “I’m going to fucking kill that bastard!” Shizuo roared.

      
    It didn’t take long for realization to hit Shinra. “Izaya did this?”

      
    It all made sense now as to why he sent Celty so far away for nothing. He couldn’t take on both her and Shizuo at once so he just needed one of them gone. Shinra was just forgetting about one small detail…

      
    “Wait,” he said suddenly, looking at Shizuo. “Where’s (Y/N)?”

      
    Shizuo lowered his head, looking defeated. He may have been also trying to hide other emotions floating inside him.

      
    “Izaya took her.”

 

* * *

 

    Besides the pain coursing through it, your brain felt foggy. All of your limbs felt heavy and impossible to move. Even your eyelids felt heavy and impossible to open. What was going on? You could hardly remember a thing.

      
    “I just got off the phone with the head of the corporate. He said there was a delay and that his men won’t be here for another few hours. Are you sure we should continue with this plan?” a woman’s voice asked to an unknown person in the room.

      
    “Oh, relax, Namie-chan,” an all too familiar voice said. “There’s nothing else stopping us. The Black Rider has no idea what’s going on and I made sure Shizu-chan will be out of commission just until this is all over.”

      
    Everything finally came back to you. The fight with Shizuo, you running out of the apartment, and Izaya. He kidnapped you and now you were stuck in whatever the hell this place was. But what he said about Shizuo… What happened? What did Izaya do to him? You couldn’t help but fear for his safety despite the fact that your was on the line.

      
    Trying to focus on what little strength you had left after the drugs, you were finally able to slowly open your eyes. A rational thing to do would be to analyze your surroundings and figure out just where you were, but rational thinking wasn’t an option with all the adrenaline suddenly pumping throughout your body. Without taking a second to see what kind of situation you were in, you tried to crawl away only to be harshly pulled back by shackles that tightly bound your wrists.

      
    “Well, well. Look who’s finally awake!” Izaya exclaimed as he made his way over to you. You quickly crawled back trying to get away from him until your back was pressed firmly against the wall. There was nowhere you could hide from him.

      
    “Why are you doing this?” you cried.

      
    “You see, you were just an easy way to make money that I just couldn’t pass up! You have no idea just how much money the daughter of a wealthy businessman is worth.”

      
    “So you knew who I was from the very beginning…?”

      
    “It wasn’t until you told me your name that I did,” he told you with a sly smirk on his face. “I must thank you for that. You did save me a lot of time and a lot more money now.”

      
    “You won’t ever get to see that money. I know Shizuo will come save me.”

      
    “And how is Shizu-chan supposed to do that from his hospital bed?”

      
    Anger flared in you at the thought of him harming Shizuo that badly. Without thinking, you did something insanely stupid, but still nothing you regretted; you spat at him.

      
    In an instant, his hand was wrapped around the collar of your shirt and he lifted you up until the chains connecting you to the wall didn’t allow it any further. With his free hand, he took out his switchblade and pressed the sharp blade against your neck. Your brain screamed at you to fight back, but there was nothing you could do with the tight shackles digging painfully into your wrists.

      
    “Now that wasn’t very nice of you, (Y/N)-chan,” Izaya said in a deadly calm voice. Just as you were accepting the end of your life, he let go of you and you fell to the floor. The impact may have hurt, but at least you were alive.

      
    Tears began to flow down your face. You didn’t know how much longer you could take this. Your only prayer was that someone would come save you from this hell.


	7. 「seven」

    Shizuo winced in pain as Shinra tried to dress his head wound. It would take time to properly care for a wound as deep as that one, but time wasn’t a luxury either of them could afford. Celty would be arriving soon and once she came, they all needed to be in proper shape to go find you. The pain in Shizuo’s head couldn’t compare to the torture his heart was enduring just knowing that he was the reason why Izaya had captured you in the first place.

      
    “I’m not sure you’re fit to go looking for him,” Shinra told Shizuo with a sigh as he finished up wrapping his head. Shizuo scoffed as he shot a glare over at his friend. The young doctor expected just as much from him, but it still worried him greatly.

      
    “I’ll be fine. (Y/N)’s head wound bled much more than mine,” he replied. He tried to stand up only for a wave of dizziness to wash over him causing him to fall back down on the couch of Shinra’s apartment.

      
    “That’s what worries me!” Shinra said in an exasperated voice as he stood up himself. “Head wounds are supposed to bleed heavily. The fact that yours isn’t means that it’s a deep wound that most likely caused severe brain trauma.”

      
    Letting out a deep sigh, Shizuo attempted to stand up again. The dizziness rushed over him like before, but he was able to fight it this time and stay standing. Taking slow and steady steps, he circled around the couch until he was standing directly in front of Shinra.

      
    “I’ll be fine,” he repeated once again before plopping back down onto the couch.

      
    Shinra couldn’t help but look at his friend in concern. Shizuo was always able to keep up such a carefree facade, but Shinra knew better than anyone that it was just that; a bluff to prevent worry. This tough man was in pain - both physically and emotionally. Shinra could only hope that one of the two ailments would disperse soon.

      
    “Where the hell is Celty anyway? She left hours ago,” Shizuo said as he placed his head in his hands.

      
    “Well, she was pretty far away already when I called her. She should be here soon-”

      
    Before he could even finish his sentence, the door to the apartment swung open and in came the dullahan herself. She immediately pulled out her phone and started typing before either man could even utter a word. Showing her phone to her husband, it read, “So what exactly is going on here?”

      
    “Izaya knocked out Shizuo and kidnapped (Y/N) just a few hours ago,” he explained.

      
    “What does Izaya want with (Y/N)?”

      
    “Her father is a wealthy businessman with several enemies,” Shizuo muttered. “That damn bastard plans on making a profit off of her.”

      
    “Do either of you know where he might be keeping her?” Shinra asked.

      
    “I know of several hideouts he has nearby,” Celty typed.

      
    “That doesn’t exactly narrow it down that much.”

      
    “It’s the best we have to work with,” Shizuo said as he stood up from his seat. “Come on, we can’t waste any more time.”

      
    The only thing the three of them could hope for was that they got to you before anyone else.

 

* * *

 

    The hours passed by slowly making it feel as if days had passed by for you. The longer you waited, the more your hope dwindled. Where was Shizuo and how come he hadn’t rescued you yet? Did Izaya really injure him that badly? Or did he just not care…? After the events that took place in his apartment, you honestly had no clue. Even so, could he really just leave you there with someone as the likes of Izaya?

      
    He didn’t even bother trying to avoid disclosing his plans to you. He talked freely about them with his assistant just feet away from you which worried you even more. If he was so open to doing that it must’ve meant that he was confident about his assured plan of victory. Most people would simply write this off as being overly cocky, but Izaya didn’t strike you as that type. No, this was well-planned and extremely thorough. If you could take a guess, the chances of him failing were close to none.

      
    That being the case, why did you refuse to give up hope of being rescued? Hope was a feeble thing in that scenario, yet you never let go of it. Perhaps it was because it was the only thing you had left - the only thing you still had control over. Even Izaya couldn’t snatch it away from you.

      
    The phone suddenly began to ring inside the office-like room causing you to jump. In an instant, his assistant answered it.

      
    “Hello?” she asked. A few seconds passed by before she placed her hand over the microphone and breathed out a sigh of relief. “Izaya, they’re finally here.”

      
    A pleased smirk suddenly appeared on his face. “Perfect. Put them on speaker, Namie-chan.”

      
    She did as told and placed the phone onto the desk. “You’re all outside, correct?” Izaya asked them.

      
    “Yeah, we’ll come up now,” one of the men said.

      
    Izaya opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off by a familiar noise. Coming from the other end of the phone, a loud noise quite similar to the sound of a horse neighing was heard. Your breath hitched in your chest and nobody dared to speak.

      
    “W-what the hell is that thing?” another man asked, finally breaking the eery silence.

      
    “Shit, that’s the Black Rider! We gotta get outta here, man!”

      
    The phone suddenly hung up. Izaya and Namie stood there in silence for a few moments, both of them stunned by what had just happened. The silence was finally by a muttered curse from Izaya as he realized his plan went wrong. It took you a few moments to process it as well. Celty was here; that must’ve meant Shizuo had come to save you!

      
    “It seems like this just might be your lucky day, (Y/N)-chan,” Izaya said as he walked toward you. “Don’t celebrate just yet, though. I’ll be back for you one day and when that day comes, not even the Black Rider will be able to save you.”

      
    Before you could process what he had to say, he and Namie walked towards the window and made their escape through the fire escape. The second they left, you were terrified that you would be trapped inside that room, but your fears were quickly quelled when Shizuo and Celty came busting through the doors. The second his eyes landed on you, he came rushing to your side and carefully wrapped his arms around your shaking and shackled body.

      
    “I’m here, I’m here. I wasn’t too late, (Y/N). I’m here,” he mumbled over and over again as he cradled your body. Celty, who was looking for the key to your confinements, rushed over with it in hand and released you from it.

          
    For the past few hours, you put up a wall to block out all your emotions in an attempt to appear tough. Those walls crumbled the second Shizuo’s arms were around your body. You buried your face into his chest and released loud, chest-wracking sobs as you still tried to process that you were safe. You were  _free._

      
    “(Y/N), sweetie, please look at me,” he said as he gently cupped his hands against your face. “I need to know where that asshole went. We’re going to make him pay for what he put you through.”

      
    “F-fire... E-escape,” you stammered as you tried to speak through your heavy sobs.

      
    Celty rushed out the fire escape in pursuit of Izaya while Shizuo picked you up in his arms and carried you out of the room. The adrenaline that was coursing through you was finally beginning to fade away, leaving you to feel weak and tired. Despite your will to stay awake, you felt your eyes slowly begin to close until you found yourself fast asleep within the safety of Shizuo’s arms.


	8. 「eight」

    Shizuo passed out shortly after rescuing you. It was to be expected after how hard he was pushing himself with his concussion in order to rescue you, but it frightened everyone nonetheless. Back at Shinra’s apartment, he was running back and forth trying to take care of both you and Shizuo, occasionally having to argue with you whenever you pushed him away and insisted he focused on the man lying across from you.

      
    Shinra’s soft muttering and Celty’s nervous pacing didn’t help to ease your nerves. Only those two knew the true extent of Shizuo’s injuries but neither cared to enlighten you of them. They may have thought it was to spare you but not knowing only made things worse. Every time you asked about Shizuo, Shinra replied far too quickly stating that he’d be fine. You couldn’t tell if he was trying to convince you or himself.

      
    Sleep was the last thing you wanted while waiting for Shizuo to pull through, but eventually, exhaustion succeeded in pulling you into its grasp. The next morning, you woke up to find yourself laying on a bed. Groggy memories of Celty carrying you away from the couch flooded your mind.

      
    As you stood up from the bed, you were about to exit the room to see how Shizuo was doing when your eyes landed on something that caught your interest; a phone. There was a call you had been debating on making ever since last night, but now you were certain you wanted to go through with it. Picking up the phone, you quickly punched in the numbers and waited eagerly for the person to answer.

 

* * *

 

    After the phone call finally ended, you felt relieved that you finally got it off your chest. So this was it. There was no turning back now no matter what Shizuo said about it. You were sure he wouldn’t be too happy about it, but there was nothing to be done. This is what you wanted.

          
    There was a sudden knock on your door which snapped you out of your thoughts. The door slowly creaked open to reveal Shinra. His expression of worry which he wore all throughout last night was now replaced with one of relief.

      
    “Hey, (Y/N)?” he called. “Shizuo is awake.”

      
    You would’ve never before believed that it was possible to run out of a room as fast as you did. You rushed to Shizuo’s side, desperate to make sure he was okay. Throughout all your whole life, you had never been as scared as you were then. Kneeling down next to where he laid on the couch, you looked at his pale face. A forced smile made its way on his lips in an attempt to make you worry less.

      
    “How are you doing?” he asked as he reached his hand up to push away a loose strand of your hair.

      
    “There’s no need to worry about me,” you whispered as you grasped his hand tightly. “I’m worried about you.”

      
    “I’m alive, aren’t I?” he chuckled.

      
    “And I couldn’t be happier.”

      
    You lowered your head onto his chest and laid there with him for a few minutes. The sound of his heart beating strongly dissolved all your previous worries. Shizuo certainly took some serious injuries the day before, but it was all good. He was okay.

      
    “I spoke to my father earlier,” you told him. “He told me I could return home now.”

      
    “Oh,” was all he said in response. Shizuo closed his eyes and braced for the bad news that he was sure to come. After all, Ikebukuro wasn’t your home.

      
    “I told him I wasn’t planning on leaving.”

      
    Shizuo’s eyes opened in shock and he tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness that rushed over him forced him to lay back down. “It’s not safe for you here.”

      
    “I highly doubt Izaya will try anything anytime soon. And even if he does, I’m not safe anywhere, Shizuo. You, out of all people, should know that a little distance won’t stop him. I want to stay here with you because I trust you and I know that you will always protect me.”

      
    He hesitated for a moment. As much as he hated to admit it, he wanted to give in to his selfish side and have you stay with him in this dangerous city. At the same time, he wanted to argue with you, he really did, but he knew it wouldn’t get him anywhere. The last time he pushed you away, he only succeeded in harming you in more ways than one. Never again did he want to see you in pain.

      
    He reached his hand up and placed it on the back of your neck, gently pushing you closer to him so he could kiss you. It was a soft and tender kiss; one that erupted a swarm of butterflies in your stomach. When you finally pulled away, he cupped your cheeks in his hand as he stared up at you.

      
    “I promise I’ll always protect you.”

      
    Even with Shizuo at your side, Ikebukuro would never truly be a safe place. After all, the likes of Izaya Orihara still lurked in the city even if he didn’t plan on making any bold actions anytime soon. Threats would be everywhere, not just within Ikebukuro, but that didn’t matter.

      
    For once in your life, you had nothing to fear. You had true happiness.


End file.
